SI NEWS 2006 eng Travel Report America
From SI Exco News
Thanks to Servas Mexico!
This is a little report of my experiences with SERVAS in MEXICO : above all - short and clear: I LOVED it ! It was honestly my best experience of SERVAS of all countries I had contact with hosts.
What made it so special in Mexico ?
Mainly the quality of the HOSTS ! I had 2 in Mexico City and 1 in Cancun. For the rest of my travels through the southern part of the country I stayed in hostels and Posadas.
My host provided me a first class welcome at the airport ! The best which can happen after a long tiring flight from another continent is somebody picking you up at a big new airport - where you would have no clue how and where to go next easily .... My hosts were very good hosts, and I enjoyed their young age and similar lifestyle to mine in Europe, and of course their lovely big labrador dog Guenter. They took much time to explain me the important first information about the daily life in this huge capital, we spend a very nice evening together with their friends/family members at home talking, a nice Sunday walk with the doggy and finally an important event: to assist at an informal SERVAS coordinator meeting in a small restaurant -where I could meet Pablo from Argentina.
My second host, who very spontaneously invited me to spend some days at his house, which I accepted on a feeling of common sympathy with him. I enjoyed very much spending more time with these hosts in their beautiful house together with cats and dogs, because I was getting a bit tired of packing and unpacking my bag all the time, and I could after some 2 days of adaptation there, feel a little bit as a new family-member ...spending meals together, going market-shopping, being introduced to their local friends of different characters and interests, talking and exchanging a lot about our lives, accompanying them to their different meetings and activities, getting practical help and useful addresses and so much more ....
What makes it so especially valuable?
Pure hospitality and a very open approach to me, frank exchanges about everything and me introducing to so many new people! When I finally left Mexico City after I had the chance to have a farewelldinner with some NEW FRIENDS !
What more could a traveller expect from SERVAS ?? This IS THE IDEA of Servas - human contact and exchanges above all ! And it worked perfectly fine in Mexico !
My charming host and his lovely wife in CANCUN did a very good "job" too ! Cancun, known as THE tourist-destination above all in Mexico Quintaroo-state: thanks to SERVAS I could discover a little bit of the REAL , quiet downtown Cancun, a part which many tourists there would never discover - I could stay in their lovely new little house, very tasty, modern and clean and I felt very well and welcome from my arrival onwards. I shared the interest of music and esoteric issues and much more with my hosts and although both had to work during the day, we could spend enough relaxed quality time together talking in the evenings and mornings.
These rich memories do not only come from visiting ruins, castles, and admiring nature's beauties, but mainly from meeting new people with whom I can CONNECT easily and EXCHANGE and LEARN from them and their lives ....
That is for me, what makes QUALITY in travelling and such a big DIFFERENCE - thanks to the great idea of SERVAS bringing people together ... - worldwide !
So, thanks from all my heart to Servas Mexico for making my trip through Mexico such a unique HUMAN experience.
SABINE POOL, Belgium & Luxemburg
TRAVEL REPORT: BUENOS AIRES (ARGENTINA) SEPT-OCT, 2004
Traveling with Servas was one of the best discoveries I ever made. I love people and I am ready to feel the atmosphere of each place I go.
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
I arrived in Buenos Aires with the expectation of having fun. I was going to meet Argentine Servas members who were to be meeting that night for the bimonthly gathering in the old Café Tortini. Before traveling, I had exchanged several messages with Elena, the local coordinator, and from her first reply I felt welcome. However, the week before my trip I was so busy that I couldn’t contact any Argentine host other than Elena. So I decided to reserve a hotel room for at least one night.
The gathering was very nice, with a lot of Argentine beer and an exchange of experiences. All the hosts were surprised that I was in a hotel and not at the home of one of them. Jorge, who was very funny, took the opportunity to take his key out of his pocket, put it in my hand and say, “if you want to go to my house now, it’s OK.” Noting my surprise, one of the others said that Jorge was like that: the most popular host in the city. I kept the keys, but I preferred to go there the next morning. I stayed for four nights. Those were excellent days, with good conversation, lunch with people Jorge knew, and lots of people around the house. I made several friends. One day another host, Pablo, took me to the Boca Junior tennis courts to see his favorite team beat the Gimnasia de La Plata. I also met friends of Servas members and when I left for Australia my heart was sad, I missed in advance all those people and I left with the best impressions of Argentine people.
Maria Fernanda Vomero, Brazil
Host and Traveller in Peru
In February I had the opportunity to have my first Servas visitor, Ralph Hammond; it was incredible. As the day approached I was nervous; for him also it was the first Servas visit. But when we met personally I felt that something happened, we recognized each other with an unbelievable harmony. We were very anxious waiting for him, my friends and I, because everybody know he was coming, and he did. The most important thing was that everybody was interested in him; he shared our customs, practiced his Spanish, danced salsa very, very well We told each other things and shared confidences in a way that I am sure will never leave us. We didn’t know if we’d see him again or not, so we wanted to take advantage of the time with him and let him feel the affection we felt for him. We enjoyed his presence to the maximum and when he said he would return we said we would always be waiting for him. We’re still waiting for you, Rafa, wherever you are, FRIENDS FOR LIFE.
Thanks to Hilaria Valdez for teaching me to be a Servas member. …but this was to be Servas, the opportunity to share and know people from different places who feel and want the same as us, not to be divided by frontiers.
Kareen Rios, Tacna Peru
